in the kitchen with: lara ferroni’s ginger dishes

Lara Ferroni has been with us before, with her Toasted Sesame and Vanilla ice cream, a hit (and her Sneak Peek). This week we’ve invited her back for a another spoon dessert incorporating an ingredient from her garden: Melon, Ginger and Shiso Sorbet with Ginger Shiso Mojitos and Sours. The great thing about her submission is that it uses a syrup as a base which you can then use in other recipes. This one really is perfect for summer! (ps: if you enjoy the drinks stay tuned next week for a new recipe from Behind the Bar!)

Peel the ginger and cut into 1 inch matchsticks. Roughly chop the shiso.

Add the sugar and water to a heavy bottom pot over medium heat and stir a few times until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the ginger and and shiso. Let steep for 10 to 20 minutes. Strain and refrigerate.

Melon, Ginger and Shiso Sorbet

You can make this recipe with any sort of melon… canteloupe, honeydew… even watermelon. I made mine with galia melon which tastes more like honeydew, but has a creamy, green colored flesh. I don’t like to over-power the melon flavor with a lot of sweetness, so you may want to add a bit more syrup.

1/2 very ripe melon

Juice from 1 lemon

1 pinch of salt

2-3 T Ginger Shiso Syrup

Shiso leaf for garnish

Blend the melon with the lemon juice and salt until smooth. Stir in the syrup and adjust amount to taste (the flavor will be more subtle when the sorbet is cold). Freeze in an ice cream maker as directed. Garnish with a bit of shiso.

Ginger Shiso Mojito

2 shiso leaves. plus one small leaf for garnish

1 t granulated sugar

1 oz rum (optional if you want a faux-jito)

juice from 1 lime

1/2 oz ginger shiso syrup

club soda

ice

Muddle 2 shiso leaves with the sugar and 1 ice cube in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, rum, lime juice and syrup. Shake. Pour into a tall glass and top with club soda and a small shiso leaf garnish.

Ginger Shiso Sour

I love this variation of a traditional pisco sour. If you don’t have pisco, substitute a good single malt whiskey.

3 oz pisco or whiskey

3/4 oz ginger shiso syrup

1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 egg white

2 dashes of bitters (optional)

1 small shiso leaf to garnish

Combine all ingredients, except bitters, in a shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into glass and garnish with two dashes of bitters on top. Garnish with the small shiso leaf.

Why Lara chose this recipe:

I’ve recently become kind of obsessed with making flavored simple syrups, and this combination of ginger and shiso is one of my favorites. The shiso adds a cinnamony-mint flavor, while the ginger adds a spicy kick. This syrup pairs really well with any tangy fruit in drinks, sorbets or fruit salads. Perfect for summer!

My husband and I just made a simple ginger syrup last weekend and found it’s totally versatile. After infusing the sugar and ginger, we candied the ginger instead of discarding them. Simply drain the pieces of ginger on a cookie sheet, coat in sugar and bake in the oven at 200 or let dry on the counter.

Not surprised to see Lara here again! She is such an inspiration! The best part is her generosity: in the beauty of her work and in the time she dedicates to others talking and writing about photography.
Very very thirsty all of a sudden!

Jacki – Shiso is most often used in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese cuisine. If you have an Asian market around, they probably have some. But it is appearing in regular markets (and some farmer’s markets) more frequently. Sometimes it is called Perilla.

Nikko – what a great tip about candying the left over ginger! I’ll have to give that a try next time.

hello there – the sorbet looks amazing but oh, the mojito! just what the doctor ordered…

over here in japan, people make shiso syrup/juice in the summer, typically using purple shiso, which give the drink a stunning reddish purple hue. but even with green shiso, if you add a bit of citric acid (or a lot of lemon juice), the syrup will slightly take on a pinkish tinge. pretty :)

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